Reacting to the ongoing row over China's latest map which incorporated Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said it is a very serious issue and what PM Modi keeps saying on China's encroachment is a lie. The entire Ladakh knows China grabbed our land.
"I have been saying for years that what the PM said, that not one inch of land was lost in Ladakh, is a lie. The entire Ladakh knows that China has transgressed. This map issue is very serious. They have taken away our land. The PM should say something about it," the former Congress chief asserted.
Meanwhile, the government responded strongly after China released the 2023 edition of its "standard map", incorporating Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region in it.
Responding to the media queries on the so-called 2023 "standard map” of China, Arindam Bagchi, the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that India has lodged a strong protest regarding it.
"We have today lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on the so-called 2023 "standard map” of China that lays claim to India’s territory.
We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question," he added.
It should be noted here that India maintains that Arunachal Pradesh has "always been" and will "always be" an integral part of the country.
What China's new map depicted?
"The 2023 edition of China's standard map was officially released on Monday and launched on the website of the standard map service hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources," state-run Global Times said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "This map is compiled based on the drawing method of the national boundaries of China and various countries in the world," the post added.
The map displayed by the Global Times showed Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet, and Aksai Chin, occupied by it in the 1962 war, as part of China.
